October 02, 2007	Tuesday	Ramazan 19, 1428

HONG KONG, Oct 1: Asian stocks closed mostly higher Monday with Singapore ending at a record high as a regional rally fuelled by last month’s sharp cut in US borrowing costs continued.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index closed 1.32 per cent up at 3,755.22 points, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,714.77 set Thursday.

Asian investors appear to be looking past potential problems for the US economy from a credit squeeze and troubled housing market in the wake of the interest rate cut.

But Australia lagged Monday, closing marginally down as investors cashed in gains once the market rose to a record high during trading.

TOKYO: Japanese share price ended mixed, with the benchmark Nikkei index posting modest gains after a better than expected central bank survey of business confidence, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index of leading shares closed up 60.27 points or 0.36 per cent at 16,845.96.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares dipped 0.73 points or 0.05 per cent to 1,615.89.

Decliners beat gainers 912 to 687, with 115 issues unchanged.

Turnover declined to 1.81 billion shares from 1.86 billion shares Friday.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.1 per cent as investors took profits after the market traded at record highs during the early session, dealers said.

They said trading was light due to public holidays in New South Wales and Western Australia but the S&P/ASX 200 hit a record intr-aday high of 6,605.0 early in the day.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 4.1 points to close at 6,563.7 while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 1.1 points to end the day at 6,579.8.

Turnover was 1.05 billion shares worth 2.89 billion dollars (2.56 billion US), with losers outstripping gainers 567 to 557 and 341 stocks unchanged.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed at a new all-time high boosted by locally-listed Chinese stocks and property plays, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index closed 48.99 points or 1.32 per cent firmer at 3,755.22, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,714.77 set on Thursday.

Volume totalled 4.0 billion shares worth 3.79 billion Singapore dollars (2.53 billion US) with 702 rising issues, 189 losers and 744 even.

The Hang Seng then reached another record peak on Friday.

We are just following in Hong Kong’s footsteps, Jarhom said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.8 per cent higher with sentiment buoyed by an extended regional rally and strong gains in index heavyweight Telekom Malaysia, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index ended up 10.75 points at 1,347.05 on volume of 1.09 billion shares worth 1.86 billion ringgit (547.0 million dollars) while gainers led losers 448 to 365 and 297 stocks were unchanged.

At the close, the ringgit was quoted at 3.3940/3970 against the dollar.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.7 per cent higher on strong foreign interest in telecom stocks, with the firmer rupiah also helping to spur buying, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 40.25 points at 2,399.46 on volume of 5.57 billion shares valued at 4.73 trillion rupiah (520.18 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.29 per cent higher in a quiet start to the week, dealers said.The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 12.29 points to 4,281.19 on turnover worth 88.1 million dollars (67.4 million US).

Stocks reliant on exports were hurt by a firmer exchange rate for the local dollar, Hamilton Hindin Greene partner Grant Williamson said. The New Zealand dollar rose on US dollar weakness to close local trading at 76.54 US cents on Monday, up from 75.70 on Friday.

Casino operator Sky City rose 16 cents to 5.38 dollars after media reports indicated any takeover bid for the firm could be priced around 6.00 dollars.

The company’s share price shot up to a peak of 5.56 last week on news that a potential bidder was undertaking due diligence.—AFP